BTS HYYH Notes (Book 1, 2, BUS Game) // COMPLETE [Part 2]

2022, Aug 20 - Seokjin (Fled Of Junho Samcheon)

[Places: Kim's home]

They put a stop on the redevelopment plan and arrested the people involved in the corruption one at a time. My abeoji was not an exception. Because he was in the middle of it all, he was most criticized. The house was surrounded with reporters when I came back after the interview. The landline phone was pulled out, and our mobile phones rang incessantly.

Abeoji was in the den. I hesitated for a long time before knocking on the door and going in. He was looking at something, but he put it in the drawer and turned to me.

"I'm sorry, abeoji." I knew what I said could not possibly solve the problem. Abeoji didn't say a word. We heard a commotion from outside.

"Go and get some rest." He stood up and went into the inner room.

Since the interview, people had poured out endless news reports. There was enough news to make people discombobulated. Even I couldn't tell what was true or false. What turned out to be the biggest problem for abeoji was Junho samcheon. He had disappeared right after the news of his involvement.

For days they reported that he had handled the kicbacks and dual contracts, the amount which was much bigger than what I'd discovered, had been handed over through Junho samcheon.

Speculations snowballed. Some saw him as the very center of the corruption. Some said that my abeoji had made him flee to overseas, or that he would turn up in a body bag soon. Some tried to have him take the rap for the whole thing. Some claimed that my abeoji was using him to weasel his way out of it.

Abeoji looked tired when he came home after being interrogated for hours by the police. They asked him for the whereabouts of Junho samcheon, but he didn't tell them.

My guess was that Junho samcheon had pocketed some money behind my abeoji's back. It probably wasn't much. Unlike what people were saying, Junho samcheon wasn't ambitious or brazenly greedy. He was more like someone who blunders over a small amount, and ends up walking into a bigger blunder to make up for his first mistake.

One day, I overheard abeoji's phone conversation. He said we had to find him before Youngin Engineering & Construction did, the company involved in the whole incident. Junho samcheon had been reported as the one who closed the illegal deal with the company and receive a huge kickback.

I realized things might be more serious than I'd thought. Junho samcheon might be pursued by the company people. Or he might be hiding somewhere, trying to figure out a way to vent his frustration somehow.

Things escalated. People petitioned to disclose illegal deal committed by my abeoji and Junho samcheon, and the protests for and against the redevelopment became more violent.

Walking back and forth in my abeoji's den, I thought about whether all this was the result of my decision. Whether I was too hasty to disclose it. Whether I had brought on this irreversible catastrophe.

I was terrified. If I hadn't come forth, something worse could have happened. However, it didn't mean that things were okay now. I was afraid to open my eyes every morning. And I couldn't bear to look at my abeoji.